Indian Trademark Statistics for October (Fifth Week) 2018, Vans Wins Trademark Battle, Samsung in Trouble with Their Galaxy, Kylie Jenner Sued Over ‘Born to Sparkle’, 326 Registered GIs in India and more, brought to you by the Trademark Attorneys at BananaIP (BIP) Counsels.

TRADEMARK QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Branding is not just about being seen as better than the competition. It’s about being seen as the only solution to your audience’s problem” – John Morgan

INDIAN TRADEMARK STATISTICS

The Indian Trademark Office has picked up its pace in the last week. The total number of the applications disposed through show cause hearings has increased by eighty one percent (81%). Similarly, the total number of hearing notices issued has increased by eighty nine percent (89%). However, the total applications published in the trademark journal has decreased by twenty six percent (26%)

Weekly Indian Trademark Statistics

Particulars

Last Week

This Week

Change in %

Total Trademark Applications Examined by Trademark Office

7003

8982

An increase of 28%

Total Applications Disposed through Show Cause Hearings

3828

6943

An increase of 81%

Total Applications Published in the Trademark Journal

9470

6978

A decrease of 26%

Total Registrations Granted

4018

5331

An increase of 33%

Total Hearing Notices Issued

2798

5298

An increase of 89%

Total Renewals Notices Issued

1062

1537

An increase of 45%

Trademark Statistics by Office

Total Number of New Applications Received from October 24th to October 31st, 2018

Sr. No

Jurisdiction

New Applications

Examined

Published

Registered

1

AHMEDABAD

852

529

898

800

2

CHENNAI

1309

745

1054

559

3

DELHI

2555

1459

1888

1866

4

KOLKATA

325

271

234

333

5

MUMBAI

1606

948

1942

1412

Total

6647

3952

6016

4970

Yearly Trademark Statistics

Trademark Statistics from January 01st, 2018 to October 31st, 2018

Total Number of Trademark Applications Filed – 259229

Total Number of Trademark Applications Examined – 122931

Total Number of Trademark Applications Published – 123546

Total Number of Trademark Applications Registered – 275680

INTERESTING BRAND NEWS

Marilyn Monroe Fireworks

Keeping alive the spark of the legendary actress, The Estate of Marilyn Monroe LLC filed a trademark application for ‘Marilyn Monroe’ for fireworks under class 14 with the USPTO. The mark has been filed on an intent to use basis. This is not the first time the Estate of Marilyn Monroe has filed a trademark under her name. As many as 25 applications have been filed for Marilyn Monroe for various goods and services including spa services, jewelry, and clothing.

INDIAN TRADEMARK UPDATES

Vans Wins Trademark Battle

Vans Inc., an American manufacturer of skateboarding shoes and related apparel filed for a permanent injunction to restrain Rishi Bansal from passing and infringing the former’s trademarks. Vans has been using the trademark ‘VANS’ since 1966. In 2017, Vans learned that Rishi Bansal is using the marks/label ‘VANS OFF THE WAIL’ and VANS with their layout, getup, lettering style and artistic feature similar to that of Vans in an identical line of business. In the suit, it is stated that usage of the marks by the Rishi Bansal in the market, will cause confusion in the minds of the public as to the actual source of the products. The Court passed a decree in favor of Vans and ordered Rishi Bansal to pay compensatory and punitive damages worth INR 2 Lakh.

INTERNATIONAL TRADEMARK UPDATES

Kylie Jenner Sued for Use of Mark ‘Born to Sparkle’

Sheree Cosmetics, a luxury cosmetics brand has filed a lawsuit against the reality television model, Kylie Jenner and her company Kylie cosmetics, for using the term ‘Born to Sparkle’ in her makeup line. In the lawsuit, it is stated that Sheree Cosmetics had released their eye shadow range in October, 2017 and Kylie’s line has similar packaging and colors which amounts to trade dress as well as trademark infringement.

Samsung in Trouble with Their Galaxy

After Samsung renamed their range of smart watches from ‘Gear’ to ‘Galaxy’, the South Korean watchmaker Orient Bio Inc., filed a trademark infringement suit. The watchmaker while filing the suit in Seoul District Court, has claimed that Samsung has infringed its brand by launching their smart watch named ‘GALAXY’. Orient has been manufacturing watches under the brand name GALAXY since 1984. Further, it has also filed for the trademarks ‘Galaxy AI Watch’, ‘Galaxy Smart Watch’ at KIPO (Korean Intellectual Property Office) on October 10, 2018. Samsung is yet to respond to the suit.

Alibaba Emerges Victorious

The U.S. District Court, New York on October 22, 2018 passed a preliminary injunction in favour of Alibaba, the China based Fortune 500 e-commerce company, in a case of trademark infringement. The court has directed the Dubai based cryptocurrency company Alibabacoin to restrain from selling or promoting the cryptocurrency with the use of the name ‘Alibaba’. The judge while passing the order has stated that the injunction has been granted to prevent the likelihood of confusion, considering the deceptive similarity between the two marks.

TRADEMARK BRAND LICENSING UPDATES

Vans-NASA Shoes Collection is Out of the World

Vans, the American Skateboarding shoes brand has done one of the coolest collaborations by teaming up with NASA for the launch of a new ‘Space Age’ collection. This collection launching on November 2nd will feature two pairs of classic Vans Old Skool Style and two pairs of the SK8-Hi Style along with the NASA logo over the wording ‘John F. Kennedy Space Center’.

GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATION UPDATES

The Indian Geographical Indications Registry Achieves a Landmark Figure

The Cell for IPR Promotions and Management (CIPAM) provided data that concluded that the Geographical Indications (GI) Registry has hit a new milestone with the registration of 326 GIs inclusive of 14 foreign GIs like Cognac from France, Porto from Portugal and Tequila from Mexico.

BANANAIP TIP OF THE WEEK

The law requires that an assignment or license of a trademark be registered with the Trademark Office in India. Though registration of licenses is not a regular practice, it can be beneficial in establishing rights during disputes.

Author: BIP Trademark Attorneys

Led by Sanjeeth Hegde, BIP’s Trademark Attorneys are among the leading experts in the field. They work with clients such as PEPS, Dharma Productions, Essilor, Samsung and the IITs with respect to trademark filing, prosecution, registration, management, licensing, franchising, merchandizing and strategy.

The weekly trademark news initiative is a part of their pro bono work and is aimed at spreading trademark awareness. You are free to share the news with appropriate attribution and backlink to the source.

If you have any questions, you may write to BIP’s Trademark Attorneys at [email protected]